


Reset

by Wardove



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Gen, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, WIP, this was supposed to be a oneshot
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-02-29
Updated: 2016-03-08
Packaged: 2018-05-23 23:41:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 6,520
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6134067
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Wardove/pseuds/Wardove
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Frisk Reset the timeline with a plan to Save Asriel, but something went wrong.  Now they've Reset again, but Chara's not staying quiet.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> I originally wrote this as a one-shot. But then it grew. And grew. Please let me know what you think- I'm not used to sharing my writing. Also, this is unbeta-ed, so if you catch any errors- please let me know!

Most of the time, Frisk slept.  They had to sleep, to keep from going insane.  They thought they'd been doing the right thing.  They'd gone their research, they'd had a plan when they reset to save Asriel.  They'd reset with the plan to do things _better_.  But something had gone wrong.  There had been a voice, whispering in the back of their mind, a chill lurking beside their own soul.  They'd been able to ignore it until they went to sleep in Toriel's house in the Ruins.  When they woke up, the human child thought they were having a nightmare; nothing more.  Feeling their face smile, while their hand twirled a knife they didn't remember picking up.  And before them, slowly crumbling to dust, was Toriel, with tears in her eyes and a sad smile on her face.

Realising the taste of dust in the air was all-too real, Frisk had wrenched control of their body back, running to their mother with tears in their eyes.  But they were too late, and after a heartbeat, Toriel was gone.  The _thing_ in Frisk's body pushed them back and used their foot to kick at the dust before pushing the door wide open.

Frisk tried to call out to Sans when he appeared behind them, but the _thing_ was ready, and pushed them back before they could speak.  After that, the shock of what had happened kicked in, and Frisk sunk into numbness, trying not to watch what was happening before their eyes.

When Papyrus offered to spare them, Frisk escaped, long enough for their own tears to stream down their face.  Freed, Frisk threw themselves at Papyrus, hugging the lanky skeleton that was a brother to them as much as Toriel was their mother.  Papyrus had laughed, holding them close and assuring them everything would be alright.  But a moment later, the _demon_ took their arm, lifted the blade, and stabbed it into Pap's exposed soul.

" _Felt a little_ frisky _there for a minute._ " They taunted, both to the crumbling skeleton and the horrified child trapped in the body with them.  After Papyrus fell into dust, Frisk was silent.  They watched numbly as the demon used their hand to kill Undyne, and Alphys, and every other poor monster that had the misfortune of crossing their path.  So Frisk slept.  Until finally, something changed.  Until they ran up against the wall that was Sans.

 

* * *

 

At his feet, the human grinned, their red blood staining their teeth in a macabre imitation of a smile.  " _You're really starting to annoy me skeleton._ "  They taunted, homicidal red light glinting in their eyes.  Sans had his fists tucked into his pockets, his brother's scarf clenched tightly in his grasp.

"i could say the same to you."  He retorted, focusing on keeping his voice level.  The human wasn't a threat right now- with five sickle-like bones pinning their torso to the floor, they weren't going anywhere.  "i don't know why you reset the timeline after everyone was happy, but i'm not letting you get any further.  not with their dust on your hands."  And how could they have done that?  This human, who had traversed the underground by refusing to fight, by befriending everyone who tried to kill them.  By befriending everyone who _did_ kill them.  They'd been on the surface for _months_.  And then suddenly, they were underground again, and the loving child had changed into something of a nightmare.  And Sans couldn't see _why_.

And then the human spoke again, spitting up some of the blood that was pooling out of their lungs.  " _You're running out of_ time _, Sans._ "  They taunted, red eyes glinting with steely mirth.  " _You can see it clear as I can.  All it takes is one slip, and you'll be dead as the rest.  And I'll_ win."  Sans' magic flared with fury, and he summoned a bone to stab into their skull.  He caught a glimpse of their soul, a dark, tainted red, before everything blinked out and he found himself at the back of the empty hall again, alone.  The kid was right; they were learning his attacks.  Slowly, they were memorizing his movements.  All it would take was one slip-up.

And so it went, again and again.  Sometimes the kid would taunt him, sometimes they were silent.  Always, they were grinning, even as their soul shattered in death again and again.  10, 20, 50, 70... Then, finally, it happened.  The human twirled around one of the Blaster's beams, and Sans realised an instant too late, they were _too close_.  He threw himself to the side, eyes locked on the knife homing in on him.  He knew it was over- he was moving too slowly, and the human had too much momentum.

Then, abruptly, the blade was twisting around. The human's other hand caught their own wrist, tugging the blade back and driving it into their own chest.  Sans backed away as the human staggered to a halt, looking down in confusion at the blade protruding from their chest.  Slowly, tears began to form in their eyes, and they slowly looked up to Sans, a fragile smile on their face that the skeleton hadn't seen in too long.

"Finish us Sans, _please_."

And he did.

 

* * *

 

The human wasn't smiling after that.  Their eyes were narrowed, their face set in stony anger.  They almost caught Sans again, but at the last minute, one foot moved in front of the other, sending the human screaming into the beam of a Blaster. Time jumped back. Sans was _tired_ , but something was changing.  The human was still very much trying to kill him, but something was stopping them. Some hidden part of their mind would interfere at the last minute, resulting in their own death.

Around the 300th death, the human didn't return to the hall.  Sans waited; sometimes they came later.  But time passed, and they were still absent, and so eventually he went looking, careful to check every shadow in case it was a trick.  But then he found them, right where they always returned to after their fights.  They were writhing on the ground, screaming, and clawing at their chest with one hand.  The other hand held the wrist firmly away from themselves, and while the mouth was twisted in rage, the eyes were a steady, steely grey.  There was blood on their head and smeared across their clothes and the floor; it looked like they'd bounced their own head against the floor a few times while they were writhing around. 

" _Give up already!_ " The human snarled, lunging forward and snapping their teeth at their own arm, but unable to reach it as their body twisted again. " _Stop interfering with my game!_ "

"It's not a game."  They growled at themselves quietly. "I'm not letting you move until we go back and fix everything."  Their face twisted again as they cackled at their own words.  " _If I go back, I'll just kill them again and again until you understand!_  I'll drive this blade into our chest every time you try. _So you'll kill yourself!  That's hilarious!_ I'll be killing _you_ too.   _You think that will stop me?_   I’m _not_ letting you hurt my friends anymore."

Abruptly, their eyes leapt to Sans as if they'd just noticed he was there, and the human's body froze.  With a cold feeling in his soul, Sans realised one eye was glinting with manic red, while the other was a flinty steel grey.

" _So the skeleton comes_ looking _for his death now?_   Sans..." Sans blinked, stepping closer to them, while still keeping a safe distance.  Their first sentence sounded like the taunts he'd become used to, but the way they'd said his name...

"...hey kiddo."

" _You're really that eager to die?_   I'm sorry Sans.  _Yeah, sorry for not killing you sooner!_   I'm sorry for not being strong enough to protect everyone." The more they talked, the easier Sans could recognize the different inflections. Like there were two different voices speaking.  Slowly, he took another step closer.

"...why the reset kid?"

"Because there was one soul I wasn't able to save. _Traitorous little crybaby deserves what he got!_   No one deserves to live like that. _This is all his fault!  He betrayed me!_   He was trying to save everyone. _And look how_ that _turned out!_   You betrayed him _first_ by making him watch you die."  The last bit was growled in their softer voice, and the red eye was filled with shock before dimming slightly.  The human's body relaxed slightly, as if their rage had been drained.  After a moment, they spoke again, their voice quiet and calm.  "I thought if I went back, I could find a way to protect him.  But I went to sleep in the ruins, and when I woke up, I was already covered in her dust..."  They hesitated, and then looked straight at him.

"Sans.  I need you to promise me something."

"i don't make promises kid."  He replied immediately, frowning.  "you saw how the last one turned out.  how many times have i killed you?"

Frisk smiled softly at that.  "I've grown stronger fighting Chara; without the LOVE they've built up, I can overpower them.  I'm going to Reset- _WHAT?-_ so I need you to come find me in the Ruins as soon as you can, okay?" Red bloomed in their eyes as the other soul, Chara, tried to take over, but it was too late.  Sans didn't even have time to react before Frisk grabbed their discarded knife and drove it into their own abdomen.

" _Well isn't this...  fucking great?_ "  Chara growled, pulling the knife out of the human's torso and tossing it aside.  " _Little Frisky actually has a backbone.  Who knew?_ "  They smirked up at Sans.  " _Don't think this is over skele-man._ "  Then their eyes shifted, and it was Frisk looking up at him again.  "See you soon Uncle Sans."  Then they closed their eyes, and the world blacked out.


	2. Back Again

His eyes were closed.  Sans didn't move immediately, even though the last thing he remembered was Frisk stabbing themselves to trigger a reset.  Had they actually reset, or was it just another reload?  He was almost positive it was a proper reset though.  He was sitting for one thing; reclining to be exact.  His arms crossed behind his head and his legs propped up on what felt like a table.  There was a faint breeze as well, and even without flesh he could feel the chill in his bones.  He wasn't in the judgment hall anymore- this was his sentry station in Snowdin.  But the clinching evidence came a minute later in the form of a distant voice yelling his name.

"SANS! YOU HAVE NOT RECALIBRATED YOUR PUZZLES YOU LAZYBONES!"  Slowly, Sans opened his eyes, confirming that yes, this was his sentry post; he was back in Snowdin.  Slowly, he stretched, his grin widening as he spotted Papyrus running down the snow-covered road.

" _s_ _now_ problem bro."  He grinned even as Papyrus complained to the cavetop.  Papyrus was back; everyone was still alive.  But what was he supposed to do about Chara?  And why did the name sound so familiar?  He'd have to find a way into the Ruins- he didn't know how much time Frisk had spent there, but so long as there was the danger of Chara taking over the body and beginning their genocide again, Sans had to do what he could.

"SANS?" The skeleton focused on his brother, surprised to find Papyrus watching him with a worried look.

"yeah bro?"

"ARE YOU OKAY?" Papyrus's voice was quieter than usual, and Sans mentally berated himself for making Pap worry.

"sitting out here all day's turned me into a _bonesicle_."  He offered with a quick wink.  "think I'll go for walk; think up new puzzles like you said."  He needed to find a way into the Ruins before Frisk fell asleep.

 

* * *

 

Toriel sighed quietly to herself as she watched the little human, Frisk, shake themselves awake again.  They’d refused to sleep the night before- insisting on staying in the living room with her and having her read to them.  Eventually, she herself had fallen asleep, and she’d woken hours later to find the little human in front of the hearth, a different book splayed out on the carpet before them.  They hadn’t slept a wink, and they’d stayed awake through the day, helping her make breakfast and lunch, reading the books on her shelves, and asking about every plant in the house.  But now it was evening again, and their sleepless night from before was obviously weighing on them as their head bobbed with the weight of exhaustion once more.  

"There  _ is _ a bedroom for you to sleep in little one." She offered, reaching down and ruffling their mousy brown hair gently.  Frisk looked up at her but vigorously shook their head.  Instead, they stood up and exited the living room.  She knew where they were going- they’d been trying to go down there since shortly after lunch had been finished- when they’d first began to nod off.  They weren't even trying to be subtle about it anymore.  Biting her lip, the former queen stood up, setting her book on the chair and hurrying down to the basement, managing to catch the child just before they reached the door.

"You  _ mustn't _ come down here."  She tried to scold, but Frisk just stared up at her with pleading grey eyes, the look they gave her all the more painful for the dark bags that had formed beneath those eyes.  She sighed and took the child's hand in her own, planning to lead them back to the living room.  But Frisk was still staring intently at the door.  She wouldn't be able to divert them much longer.  She'd already lost so many children to those doors but... If she destroyed the doorway, she destroyed the link to her joking friend on the outside as well.  She wanted to protect Frisk, but could she really cut herself off from the one friend she really had in this place?

And as if the thought itself were magic, there was a knock at the door.  Quickly, Toriel scooped Frisk up in her arms, holding them tightly as she internally debated.  She loved her friend’s jokes, but if they knew she was hiding a human child...

"knock knock." His voice called, muffled by the thickness of the door.

"Who's there?"  Frisk called out, startling Toriel.  There was a chuckle on the other side, Toriel's friend seeming unfazed that someone else had answered his opening line when it had _only_ ever been Toriel.  

"it's bonely."

"It's bonely who?" The child asked, already grinning.

"It's  _ bonely _ little old me out here."

"That one was  _ bad _ ."  Frisk said with a giggle, squirming out of Toriel's arms and trotting towards the door.  The motherly monster caught their hand before they reached it, but they were smiling now.

"My turn.  Knock knock."

"who's there?"

"Etch!"

"etch who?"

"Bless you!" Toriel snorted at that one, and on the other side, she heard her friend chuckling.  

"not bad, not bad at all.  my turn; knock knock." Frisk tugged their hand out of Toriel's once again, stepping closer to the door.

"Who's there?"

"al."

"Al who?"

" _ al _ give you a hot dog if you open this door." Toriel snickered; that was a new one.  And then abruptly she realized- the child had taken the joke seriously; they were  _ opening the door _ .

"My child, no!"  She leapt forward, aiming to force the door shut before it was fully open, but she was too late- the monster on the other side of the door had been waiting, and slipped through the narrow gap easily seconds before Toriel slammed it closed.  She spun about, summoning flame to her hand to fend him off because why would he be trying something like this  _ now _ unless he  _ knew _ , but the human child was already pressed against the monster's torso.  She opened her mouth to demand their release when she realized Frisk had the monster in a tight hug of their own, while two skeletal hands were held aloft in a surrender pose.

"hey kid, mind easing up?  your mom looks pretty mad; i'd rather not end up  _ sans _ -flambé."  But Frisk shook their head, burying it deeper in the skeleton's coat, their shoulders shuddering with muffled sobs.  Shaken, Toriel let the fire drop; as soon as she did so the skeleton's arms came down and wrapped around the crying child.

Did...  did he not  _ know _ the child was human?  It had been so long, perhaps this monster had never seen a human before.  But then why had he slipped in so quickly, when he’d never tried before?  Why was Frisk holding onto him so tightly?  Slowly, Toriel stepped closer, watching as the skeleton ducked his head down and whispered quietly to Frisk.  Toriel couldn't hear what he was saying, but Frisk just clutched him tighter, even as their sobs ebbed.

"you know something kid?  on nights like these, kids like you...  are gonna have a  _ bed time _ ."  Frisk leaned back and glared at the skeleton with tears in their eyes, to which he shrugged.  "yeah, i’ll admit that one was pretty bad."  He reached into one of his pockets and withdrew a hot dog and a bottle of ketchup, offering the food to the child, who finally released his coat in favour of the steaming meat.

Finally, food in hand, Frisk returned safely to Toriel's side, and the former queen gladly swept the child up in her arms.  They seemed far more relaxed than they had before, and they rested their head on her shoulder as she began to carry them back to the house, motioning for her friend to follow after, which he did while sipping the bottle of ketchup.

"Hey mom, why should you never trust an atom?"  Frisk asked, and Toriel glanced at them in confusion.

"I don't know my child, why?"

"Because they make everything up."  Frisk giggled into her shoulder, and behind her, Toriel heard the skeleton cough on his ketchup.

"careful kid, most of the good science jokes  _ argon _ already."

"Now now, it really  _ is _ someone's bedtime."  Toriel interrupted with a fond smile, while Frisk scrunched up their face, trying to think of a follow-up pun.  "I'm sure everyone's  _ eggs _ hausted."

"suppose i'll have to say good  _ nitrogen _ then."  Frisk just snorted into Toriel's shoulder as their eyes drifted shut.

"Sleep  _ tightrogen _ ."  Toriel giggled, running with the joke.

"Don't let the bed bugs  _ bitrogen _ ."  Frisk muttered sleepily, their face curling into a warm smile as they  _ finally _ drifted off to sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm really bad at puns. I'm sorry- this is probably going to be the only chapter with them. I spent so much time looking up puns that I could use and... I'm not a punny person. I can appreciate hilarious puns I just can't... come up with them. I know puns are a big thing, but I can't spend hours trying to find puns that would fit the situation.
> 
> Next chapter will be up in the next few days~ (I've got about 10 chapters mostly written already, but I'm staggering the posts as they all need to be edited and cleaned up before posting.) 
> 
> Let me know what you think in the comments!


	3. Making Deals

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ao3 seems to like adding random spaces around my italics. If anything looks strange, I'm sorry. At least it isn't messing with my letters~ Another thing, sometime either this week or next, I'm going to start posting some other stories that I posted a long time ago on another site, so maybe check those out? If anyone's interested, I'll mention in the Notes when I've got something else up.

Toriel had put the child to bed, and she spent a few minutes greeting Sans properly, exchanging names and puns, as they hadn't technically met yet in this timeline. Afterwards, she'd given him a few pillows and blankets to set before the hearth before retiring to her own bedroom. Sans waited until he heard her door click before silently rising to his feet and moving to the stairwell, where he settled against the door to the rest of the Ruins.

As he’d suspected, a few minutes later the small figure of the human child slunk out of their bedroom, a cowboy boot clutched tightly in their hand. He waited until they were almost in the middle of the room before he let his magic flare in his eye and grabbed their soul, pushing it down just enough to warn them. They turned, and red eyes reflected back at him in the dim light.

"... _What're you doing sitting over there Sans?_ " Chara asked, sounding like they were trying to mimic Frisk's voice.

"cut the charade kid; i know it's you." He growled quietly. "i'm here to make sure you don't do anything my little buddy will regret in the morning." He pointedly shifted his gaze to their makeshift weapon and smirked. Chara dropped their smile, shifting and standing straight, tossing the shoe aside.

" _The way I see it, you're at a severe disadvantage,_ Sans." They practically spat his name, though they were also keeping their voice quiet- just as wary of waking Toriel as he was apparently. " _You see, you're the only one who knows about me. Just like before, all I need is one slip-up, and you'll be dusted, and there will be no-one to stop me._ "

"i slipped several times." Sans reminded them. "but frisk stopped you. even if you get through me, even if you manage to kill half of the underground, there's no way you can get all the way to the end before frisk wakes up. and they've already proven they can force a reset without you. it'll be the same song and dance as before, but you're playing against frisk now. so, knowing that, what are you going to do now _chara_?"

The kid actually _flinched_ at their own name, glowering at him darkly. " _...Let's make a deal, funny-bones. You don't tell anyone about me, not even a mention of my name. In return, I swear I won't go off everyone._ "

"you won't go off _anyone_." Sans growled, tugging at their soul when they glared at him.

" _Fine._ " They almost yelled, hissing it out at the last second with a wary glance at the bedrooms. " _Fine. I won't kill anyone so long as you uphold your part of the bargain._ "

"i _will_ be telling frisk what you get up to with their body when they're sleeping."

Chara glowered, but nodded mutely. Satisfied with the agreement, Sans released their soul, watching suspiciously while they retrieved the cowboy boot from the floor and returned it to their room.

" _One more condition._ " Chara said, exiting the bedroom again. " _You get me a piece of the butts pie; damn Frisk ate our slice before going to bed and didn't leave me any._ "

Sans snorted, but rose to his feet and waved the kid into the kitchen; making it obvious he wasn't turning his back on them. As they passed him, he cracked a smile.

" _butts_ pie? really?"

" _Shaddup._ "

 

* * *

 

Toriel woke with a smile on her face. Frisk had been trying so hard to escape the Ruins, and she'd been afraid she'd have to destroy the door to keep them safe, but as soon as Sans had entered, they'd settled. It was certainly strange, but perhaps the child knew they'd get lonely with just a mother for company? It was a temporary solution at best- Sans had to go home sometime, but it would do for now.

Quietly she got dressed, mindful of her new guests. Her first stop was to check on Frisk in their bedroom, but when she opened the door, she realised the child wasn't in their bed. Toriel felt fear in her chest- could they have slipped out of the Ruins while she was sleeping? Or worse... Had Sans recognised them as a human, and taken them away? She considered him a good friend, despite having never met him face to face until now.  But he’d made that promise, months and months ago… Fear lodged in her throat, and Toriel hurried to the living room, stopping dead in the doorway when her eyes landed on the figures in front of the hearth.

Sans was reclining among the pillows, grinning up at her with one bony finger held to his teeth in a shushing motion. Frisk lay next to him, their arms firmly wrapped around his other arm... which didn't seem to be attached to the skeleton himself. The child was still fast asleep, and Toriel smiled despite herself as her panic ebbed, slipping back to her room and getting her camera. Unfortunately, the flash seemed to wake Frisk, and they sat up abruptly, blinking and rubbing at their eyes with a sleeve.

"Good morning my child." Toriel greeted warmly, and Frisk waved in her direction. Then they looked down at the arm in their lap, and almost instantly turned a shade paler.

"S-Sans!" They cried out, tears coming to their eyes as they stared down at the arm. Sans, who had been grinning, blinked in surprise at the reaction before quickly leaning forward and patting the kid's shoulder with his other hand.

"it's okay kiddo- it does that!" Tears were still spilling from Frisk's eyes though, and if Toriel wasn't feeling so protective of the upset child, she may have been amused at how flustered Sans was getting. "hey now, c'mon frisk..." He hesitated, blinking. "is this about the sleepwalking?"

_That_ seemed to get Frisk's attention. "S-sleepwalking?" They sniffled, looking at him in confusion.

"Frisk sleepwalks?" Toriel asked curiously. Was that why the child was so reluctant to sleep before?

"oh yeah, kid got up barely after they went to bed. tried to wander out to the ruins, but i turned 'em around. after that, they wouldn't go to bed without another slice of pie." He grinned. "then they ended up going back to sleep on my bed. body must've been more tired than the soul, huh kid?"

To Toriel's relief, Frisk looked much calmer than they had when they'd woken up. But they still picked up Sans's arm, waving it slightly, a questioning look on their face. The skeleton shrugged, taking the arm back and popping it back into the shoulder socket. "pretty sure that was all you kid- rolled over in your sleep and tried to _cuddle_ me."

_That_ one brought a laugh out of the child, and Toriel smiled.

 

* * *

 

As soon as Frisk was back in their room, they giggled quietly. "You got up for pie?  _Shut up._ ” Chara’s growled response was immediate. “ _I_ was _going to go back to the Ruins to get my knife and dust the damn skeleton, but he was waiting for me. I figured I'd make a deal with him instead, since he made it obvious he was going to make a nuisance of himself otherwise._  And _then_ you got pie.  _You ate our slice!_ ” Frisk paused at that. Chara sounded... almost upset about that. Admittedly, the pie had tasted really good but... oh. Oh. But Toriel was Chara's mother. And Frisk didn't know how long they'd been dead, but it must have been a long time, for 6 other humans to fall into the underground in the meantime. Perhaps Chara really did miss their mother's cooking. That gave Frisk an idea.

"So long as Sans is supervising... if you want to eat something, or do something while I'm awake, you can ask. I'm not gonna let you kill anyone! But... if you just want some of mom's cooking, or you want to smell something... I suppose I can share that.  _So long as the skeleton has his eye on us, huh?_ I don't trust you _that_ much yet.  _Understandable. Fine, it's a deal._ ”

Frisk smiled as they continued to get dressed. Chara may have been a possessing demon, but they were still a kid like Frisk. Underneath all the murdery rage.   

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, I had 12 chapters written for this. But I did a stupid, and I wasn't saving the document, just sending the tablet to sleep when I was done writing for the night. Whelp, it auto-updated and restarted, and I lost everything I'd written for part of chapter 10, as well as the entirety of chapters 11 and 12. I'm rewriting them, but my heart isn't really in them, so it's slower going. Friendly reminder to ALWAYS SAVE. Don't be an idiot like me! 
> 
> Also, on the subject of Chara. Yes, they're the spirit behind the genocide run. Yes, they were even Creepy Little Kid material when they were living with the monsters. But there's the thing, in my mind. They were _living_ with the monsters. Peacefully. Sure there was all the semi-psycho shenanigans with the buttercups, but Chara wasn't going on a murderous rampage back then. So. I'll cover that more later in the story, but I just wanted to point that out now. *wink*


	4. Silly Skelebros

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Put this one up kinda quick on lunch break- sorry if there's any glaring spelling errors.
> 
> (Also, why does the last line _always_ convert to bold style? Where does that even come from??? Every time!)

Several days went by, filled with reading books about history, cooking, and snails, impromptu homeschooling lessons, and pun wars between Tori and Sans, with Frisk clapping on the sidelines.  Eventually though, Toriel’s fridge began running low on supplies, necessitating a trip out to gather enough food to feed not only herself, but the small human child (who could put away an impressive amount of food), and the skeleton friend that hadn’t left yet.  She hadn't been sure about leaving Frisk home alone, but the child had been avidly reading a history book on the time before the war, so she'd left the child in the living room.  Sans had offered to either stay and watch the child or help her with the groceries.  Toriel hadn't _wanted_ to leave Frisk alone, but with three mouths to feed instead of one, she needed to pick up more supplies than usual, and she really would need the help. 

It was several hours later that the two finally arrived back at the small house in the Ruins.  "We're back my child!"  Toriel called as she opened the door, stepping through quickly so Sans could get all the food into the kitchen. He was surprisingly strong for someone without muscles; something they'd been making jokes about the entire way back to the house. She was somewhat surprised though when Frisk didn't come to greet her, but she assumed they were just absorbed in the book they'd been reading when she left.

"they're not in the living room or the kitchen." Sans informed her as he walked back into the entryway, his hands back in his pockets, his grin seemed a little less bright than before, and Toriel felt a seed of worry sprout in her soul.

"P-Perhaps they've just gone to take a nap- they didn't sleep very well last night." She suggested, heading to the bedroom, but now Sans was frowning. Then she remembered; Frisk was a sleepwalker- if they'd napped, they could have wandered off.  They'd proven they could handle the puzzles in the Ruins, but if they were asleep... 

"don't worry tori, I'm sure we'll find the kid." Sans offered, no doubt catching the look on her face. Toriel was about to reply when she noticed a piece of paper at the top of the stairs to the basement. Feeling fear clutching at her throat, she picked it up and began to read.

 

> Dear Mom and Sans,
> 
> Sans, your brother was knocking on the basement door and yelling really loudly looking for you- he was really worried! You didn't tell him you were coming here? You should have at least called him later on or something; it's not nice to make your family worry, silly-bones! Anyway, Papyrus figured out I was a human (I didn’t have any rocks to point out or conveniently shaped lamps to hid behind), and he was going to bring me to the capital, but I mentioned that I was really good at solving the puzzles in the Ruins, so now he's decided to test me against his human-catching traps. I told him if I was going to be gone for more than an hour I had to leave a note for you guys though.
> 
> PS- I grabbed a few slices of pie before I left so Papyrus and I can have a snack later if we get hungry- sorry mom!
> 
> \- Frisk

Toriel mutely handed the letter to Sans and waited as he read it. She waited until he was done before speaking.

"You knew Frisk was a human, didn't you?" She demanded. Sans shrugged, handing her back the letter and putting his hands back into his pockets.

"sure i did. pap and i, we're sentries around snowdin- we're _supposed_ to be on lookout for humans." He grinned at her. "catching energetic humans seems like too much effort for me though."

"My child is in danger and you're _laughing_ about it?" Toriel demanded, her anger bringing flames to her hands. Immediately Sans pulled his hands back out of his pockets and put them up.

"woah, tori, i'm sorry, i'm sorry! it's okay, here, we'll just go after them! we can take one of my shortcuts to catch up to them." He hesitated. "remember, back when you asked me to make a promise? if a kid went through that door, i'd keep them safe. so trust me when i say, i _know_ pap won't hurt them." Toriel was still frowning, but she finally sighed and nodded, taking the hand Sans offered her.

 

* * *

 

Frisk was beginning to wonder where Sans and Toriel were. They'd gone through all of Papyrus's puzzles, though some of them were different than they remembered. The snow puzzle in the shape of the skeleton’s face had been in a different shape, and the spaghetti trap wasn’t frozen solid yet, so Frisk had taken a few bites just so they could tell Pap they had.  They’d also had to explain the electric trap to Papyrus, as Sans wasn’t there.   _That_ had been somewhat embarrassing for both human and skeleton (Papyrus had actually decided to skip that trap, since he suspected it was too easy since Frisk knew about the orb).  

Sans's Junior Jumble ‘trap’ hadn't even been there, and Papyrus had spent a solid five minutes complaining to Frisk about what a lazy bones his older brother was while the two took a break to make snow angels. Which would have been really funny if it hadn't been for Chara silently begging Frisk to let them shut the skeleton up and occasionally trying to test the hold Frisk had on their body.  But now they were standing at the entrance to Snowdin, watching an awkward-looking skeleton blush and scuff his feet in the snow beside them.

"TO TELL YOU THE TRUTH HUMAN, I DIDN'T EXPECT YOU TO GET THIS FAR." He explained. "I'M NOT ENTIRELY SURE WHAT TO DO NEXT." Frisk stood next to him silently, wondering the same thing. Should they just try to continue past the town? It was hard to tell in the Underground, but Frisk was pretty sure it was getting close to dinner time- Toriel and Sans were surely back by now. And even with the letter they left, how would Toriel react to Frisk being gone? They were beginning to think they'd made a mistake in going with Papyrus alone, even if the skeleton _was_ a good friend in the first timeline.

As they thought, Frisk felt their stomach rumble, and wondered briefly if they should eat the pie they'd brought with them. However, Papyrus jumped in surprise at the sound.

"HUMAN! WHY ARE YOU GROWLING LIKE A DOG?!"

"It's my stomach Pap." Frisk informed him with a smile. "Human tummies growl when they don't get fed, and it's dinnertime."

"I DID NOT KNOW THAT ABOUT HUMANS!" Papyrus declared. "HUMANS REALLY ARE STRANGE CREATURES, AREN'T THEY?" Frisk giggled and nodded, while Chara made gagging noises in their mind. "I KNOW! HUMAN! COME TO MY HOUSE- I WILL MAKE YOU MORE OF MY AMAZING SPAGHETTI!"

_"Mom had better come rescue us before we have to eat that._ " Chara growled quietly enough that Papyrus, who was animatedly telling them about how fun it would be to cook with a fellow spaghetti lover, could not hear their words.  Silently, Frisk couldn't help but agree, even as they took Papyrus's hand and followed him through Snowdin.  Papyrus was a good friend, and once he'd reached the surface his cooking had improved, but this was _before_...

 

* * *

 

Sans was beginning to get worried the closer they got to Snowdin. Toriel was still upset, but Sans could tell she was trying to be hopeful. After losing so many other human children to the Underground though, Sans imagined it must've been difficult for her to trust him about his brother, and the safety of her child. "at this point, there's only a few other places they could be." Sans told her as they crossed into the town. Sans wasn't sure, but Papyrus had either brought the human home, locked them in the shed, or was, in fact, bringing them to Undyne.  The last one seemed unlikely though; he was hoping for the former. Sans led Toriel quickly past the Snowed Inn, the Librarby, and past Grillby's, stopping in front of his own house. Toriel frowned when he let himself in, but she followed all the same, and then her eyes lit up as she heard activity in the kitchen.

"SANS? IS THAT YOU!?"

"yeah bro, brought a guest with me too." He entered the kitchen with Toriel to find a somewhat strange sight inside. There were colourful bits of food splattered across the walls, and even some on the ceiling.  There was also a sooty scorch mark running up the wall behind the stove, and the air in the kitchen reeked of burnt pasta.  Papyrus was at the counter, in the middle of ‘chopping’ an onion, sending bits of it flying as he beat it to a pulp.  There were already several other bowls next to him of similarly pulverized ingredients, including what may have one time been hot dogs. Frisk was standing on a chair in front of the stove, stirring a bubbling pot of pasta, which was thankfully _not_ on fire. 

"...what're you doing bro?" Papyrus glanced up at his brother and grinned wider.

"SANS! THE HUMAN IS TEACHING ME THEIR OWN SECRET PASTA RECIPE!"

" _Yes well,_ someone _had to step in before the house burned down._ " Sans felt his magic flare at the familiar inflection in the voice, but before he could react, they spoke again. "Hi Sans, hi mom."

"I was very worried about you my child." Toriel scolded, but she was smiling as she quickly crossed the kitchen and wrapped the human in a tight hug. Sans wasn't sure how to react. Chara had spoken first, but Frisk also seemed to be awake... and no-one was dead, so that was a good thing.

"I DID NOT KNOW HUMANS COULD HAVE MONSTER PARENTS!" Papyrus exclaimed, looking at the pair. At second glance, Sans realized he could see Chara's red eyes staring at him. Toriel was still hugging them, but the possessing soul held the child’s body stiff in her embrace, the look in their eyes practically begging for help. Or threatening; it was a little hard to tell. Sans debated leaving them to her hug, but then decided against it. If Frisk was allowing Chara to have control for whatever reason, and they weren't trying to kill anyone, they should probably be rewarded for good behaviour or something.

"hey tori, you haven't met my brother yet. this is papyrus. paps, this is my friend toriel- she lives in the ruins with frisk."

"WHO IS FRISK?"

"That's my name, silly bones." Frisk informed him with a giggle. Toriel smiled and released the child, turning to speak with Papyrus. While they were greeting each other, Sans slipped around and gave the human a pointed look. Chara was back in front, aggressively stirring the pasta, and they quickly stuck their tongue out at him before leaning down and whispering quietly.

" _You idiots were late, and your stupid brother decided he was going to_ feed _us. He set the first pot of pasta on fire, and then I told the brat if they didn't do something to stop him I'd stab a knife in our gut to escape the torture._ So I told Papyrus I had a secret pasta recipe I thought he'd like, but it had to be done a very special way. _And since I was pissed off, little Frisky agreed that I could stir the damn pasta so long as I didn't stab the skeleton for being a pain in the ass._ " Sans blinked, watching curiously as their eyes and facial expressions shifted along with their voice- the two souls literally passing control of the body back and forth.

"gotta admit, kinda freaky when you two do that." He admitted as they stared at him, one eye red with grey flecks and one grey with red flecks.

“ _You’re kinda freaky._ ”  Chara retorted, scowling slightly and turning back to the pasta pointedly. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I feel like these are really short, and I'm sorry if it annoys people. I just kinda write them as they come to me. I was pretty mad about the chapters I lost, but then I re-wrote them, and I somehow accidentally ended up writing one scene three different times. They each ended differently, and sent the story careening in different directions. Working on writing the stuff in the middle and figuring out which path to the end I want to take >:-D 
> 
> If this isn't done by the end of the month though (and I don't think it will be), updates will be more spaced out. I'm (hopefully) getting a new job after this contract is over, and I'm also starting evening Welding classes. On top of that, there's an Anime Convention coming up, so a lot of my time is spent coordinating with friends (I hate / am terrified of big cities, and I can't figure out if I have the nerves to walk from the bus station to our hotel, or if I want to spend money on a taxi...

**Author's Note:**

> A couple quick things. In this story, Sans doesn't have omniscient knowledge of every timeline. He remembers all the time-shenanigans of Flowey's, the pacifist run Frisk did, and then the genocide run that the prologue takes place in.  
> Also, I hope it was clear in the story, but when Chara is talking through Frisk's body, their words are italicized. Frisk and Chara were both forcing control of the shared body and fighting against each other, which was why one eye was red (representing Chara) and one was grey (Frisk).


End file.
